Roll-holding camera



No; 625,660. Patented May 23, I899. w. v. zsmoun.

noLL Momma CAMERA.

(Application filed Nov. 25, 1896.)

(No Model.)

ilvitwo was LL/WJ% 114; Quorum UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM V. ESMOND, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE E. H. T. ANTHONY & COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

ROLL-HOLDING CAMERA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,660, dated May 23, 1899.

Application filed November 25,1896. Serial No. 613M142- (NO 11105613 To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM V. EsMoND, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Roll-Holders for Photographic Cameras, of which the following is a specification.

My improved roll-holder is peculiarly adapted to small cameras, because of its unusually compact, simple, and light construction, although equally well adapted to cameras of all sizes.

The characteristic features of the roll-holder are that the exposing-board, side pieces, and the roll holding or supporting devices are all made in a single piece, and may he and are by me stamped up from thin sheet metal, so that the stated parts of the roll-holder may be less expensive than in any other form known to me; also, the arrangement is such that the roll-holder is sustained in the camera by the devices which serve other purposes, thus doing away with additional parts to hold the roll-holderthat is to say, the winding thumb-screw and the indicator-spindle are so arranged that they are the devices which sustain the roll-holder within the camera; also, as far as possible, I carry out this same principle in the other devices-21 6., the spring which gives tension to the film likewise presses the roll-holder forwardly against a fixed stop, acting as asupport for its lower part. Likewise the spring-pawl that prevents back movement of the film is extended to the left, and another part of the same piece ofmetal forms the pressure device to secure the proper winding of the exposed film. There are various other structural features which I believe to be new, which will be referred to hereinafter.

I show the roll-holder as applied to a somewhat peculiarly constructed pocket-camera. It, however, is not confined to use with any special form, but with suitable coacting appliances may be applied to any camera.

In the drawings hereof, Figure 1 illustrates an elevation of a pocket-camera with the invention applied thereto, the view being partly in longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 2 illustrates a transverse vertical section on the line 1 l of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates an elevation of the exterior of the rear portion of the camera. of the end of the guide-roller with which the indicator-spindle engages. Fig. 5 illustrates a plan view of the rollholder.

A illustrates the camera body or box. B is the front portion thereof, which is hinged to the rear portion at O and folds down horizontally to act as a supportfor the bellows D, the front frame of which carries the lens E, which is suitably held at any desired projection by a'clamping device F.

G is a finder, which I ordinarily mount upon the swinging portion B of the camera.

H H are the upper and lower members of a frame located within the camera, which acts as a stop for the front side of the rollholder. This frame is of course open in its interior.

I is a bayonet-slotted arm or lever which sustains the swinging part B of the camera in its projected position and is adapted to fold rearwardly within the camera-case when the camera is collapsed and the swinging part B folded upwardly into its closed position.

The parts above referred to form no essential part of the invention, but are described in order that the drawings may be fully understood. Referring to the roll-holder proper, which is the subject of this invention, J is a casing, preferably formed'of a single piece of thin metal, the front plate K whereof acts as theexposure-board, and when the metal is stamped up I prefer to form forwardly-projecting ribs L L (see Fig. 5) upon it, which act-as lateral guides for the film.

M is a guide-roller at the upper end of the casing, which is supported upon a tubular bushing N, which extends through the roller and is journaled in the sides of the rollholder, as shown.

S is a spindle which has an indicator-finger 0 upon its outer end and asmall projecting pin or finger P upon it somewhat inwardly from the indicator. In the side of the camera there is an opening Q, which exactly fits'the spindle, having at its upper side or at other proper Fig. 4 illustrates a detail in perspective position a little notch B, through which the pin P may pass in introducing the spindle, and the front end of the tubular bushing N (see Fig. 4) is slotted, as at T T, preferably on both sides, as shown, into which slot the finger 1? may pass when the spindle is fully introduced within the bushing. At the opposite side of the camera-box there is a socket U, into which the end of the spindle S enters when passed through the bushing, as shown. A suitable indicator-plate V is preferably made upon the exterior of the camera, although it is not necessary. The mere fact that the indicator-finger 0 points upwardly or downwardly, as the case may be, is sufficient indication.

W is a latch which has an open throat-like end, which enters a thin annular groove Y on the spindle S, and thus holds the spindle in position when introduced through the roller M.

A is the winding-spindle. It is slotted, as at B, so that the end of the film, which is pointed for this purpose, can be passed through the slot for the purpose of making the end fast. This spindle is journaled at its ends in the sides of the roll-holder, and can be readily removed therefrom by springingthem apart slightly, and they are made of spring or yielding material, preferably metal for that purpose.

O is a disk at one end of the spindle, and D is another disk at the opposite end. The latter is likewise a ratchet having teeth on its periphery, (see Fig. 1,) and with this ratchet a spring-pawl E engages and prevents backward turning of the spindle. The same piece of metal which constitutes this pawl is extended laterally, as shown at G, and is fashioned into the form of a pressure-spring II, which presses against the film as it is wound upon the spindle A and causes it to wind up snugly. The disks C and D are separated by a space but slightly greater than the width of the film, so that it when wound upon the spindle will be for all practical purposes protected against the action of light by the disks.

I is the hub of a handle J, the inner end of the hub being threaded, and it screws into the end of the spindle A, which is interiorly bored and threaded for this purpose.

K is a washer attached to the hub I on the inside of the camera, so that when the hub is unscrewed from the spindle the washer will prevent it from passing outwardly an d becominglost. Thelower portion of the roll-holder casing is made in the form of a half-round gutter L, adapted to receive and hold a roll of sensitized film, and M is a spring which is attached to the rear side of a camera and which acts as a friction-plate to retard the movement of the film. The guide-roller M has prick-points M upon its periphery which puncture the paper and likewise compel the rotation of the roller, so that the indicator will properly operate. Inasmuch as all parts of the roll-holder in pocket-cameras are quite small the operator in cutting up his film cuts on the line of every second or every third,

The operation is as follows: The film used in this roll-holder is preferably provided with a strip of black paper at both ends and is wound upon itself, together with the black paper at each end, without the presence of any spool or other axis, the paper being prevented from unwinding by another invention of mine, which forms the subject-matter of another application for Letters Patent now pending. The roll-holder is removed from the camera by unscrewing the winding device J and by raising the latch W and pulling outwardly the indicator-spindle N until it is entirely removed from the camera. In so doing the pin P of course registers with the notch R. It will then be seen that the rollholder is loose within the camera, and a sliding lid or door X (see Figs. 1 and 2) being then removed the roll-holder will drop out from the camera upon turning it over. The roll of film is then dropped into the gutter L, the end of the black paper being first loosened, and after passing it over the upwardly-presen'red edge of the gutter L is carried downwardly around the lower curved end of the roll-holder, upwardly again across the face of the roll-holder, between the ribs L L, (see Fig. 5,) over the roller M, and downwardly again to the slot B in the spindle A, where it is properly engaged by a turn or two of the spindle. During all of this time the film is protected by reason of the section of black paper which is attached to the film, as stated, there being enough of it to extend from the roll around the roll-holder, as stated, and to make connection with the spindle A without exposing as yet any of the film. The roll-holder, with the film arranged as stated, is then returned to the camera, the winding-spindle J and the indicator-spindle N are both returned to their proper position, and the slide or door X being likewise replaced the camera is ready for use. The operator knows how many turns of the spindle A he should make in order to bring the sensitized film across the face of the roll-holder and from that time on uses the same as his experience and the directions for the use of the apparatus require, and it will be observed that during the transit of the paper from the roll located in the gutter L to the winding-spindle A the springs M give tension at one endt'. 6., the delivery end-and the spring II gives tension at the winding-spindle and causes the film to be wound snugly and evenly thereon. After all of the film has been exposed the roll-holder is again removed from the camera, the exposed film taken away for development, and a new roll substituted in the manner above set forth. The operator knows when all of the film, including the black paper at its end,

has been wound upon the winding-spindle, because his indicator will not revolve when this is accomplished, and when the exposed film is taken away from the camera in order to hold it secure against injury by light and also for convenient transportation the rear end of the black paper, which is now wound upon the outside of the exposed film, is fastened in some suitable manner, preferably by adhesive material applied thereto, as set forth in my other invention above referred to.

It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this art that modifications in the'det'ails of construction may be made without departing from the essentials of the invention. I therefore do not limit myself to the details.

I claim 1. A frame for a roll-holder made from a single piece of sheet metal, having a continuous flat front plate, a gutter-like receptacle at its lower end, side pieces at substantially right angles to the front plate, and bearings for the support of a guide-roller, and also a take-up roller in the side pieces, for the purposes set forth.

2. A frame for a roll-holder, made of sheet metal and having a continuous fiat front plate, and vertically-arranged, lateral ribs at the edges of the front plate, for guiding the film, for the purposes set forth.

. 3. A frame for a roll-holder made of a single piece of sheet metal having a gutter-like receptacle at its lower end, a flat front, ribs 6. The combination of a roll-holder having v yielding sides, a winding-spindle journaled upon said yielding sides, a guide-roller, sup ported upon the roll-holder, and provided with an indicator-spindle,whi'ch projects to the exterior of the camera, a chamber or receptacle at the lower part of the roll-holder, for the re ception of the film, a spring adjacent to the roll of film for applying tension, and another spring adjacent to the winding-spindle, to apply pressure thereupon, for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 23d day of November, A. D. 1896. p I

' WVILLIAM V. ESMOND.

Witnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, A. BoDINE MORRISON. 

